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Attack On America
The Strike Heard Around The World
A personal experience of what Rocky Mount Senior High was like moments after
the tragic events of September 11, 2001
I was sitting in my AP
Biology class waiting for the
bell to ring. It was actually
Channel One time, but the TV
in that room had been stolen,
so we just sat there. It was at
that time, at about 9:30 am on
September 11, 2001 that I
heard the news.
My teacher, Ms.
Blankinship, ran back into the
room and said, “Guys, listen
up. Two planes were hijacked
and then run into the World
Trade Center.” Most of us
didn’t believe her. Some
believed it was just a small
charter plane. Others just
didn’t seem to care. Then, the
bell rang, and we moved to
second period.
I got to room 215 rather
quickly. Mrs. Wall had the
radio on her bookshelf blasting
the news known at that point.
The computer was on the
Internet, where she had been
trying to find more informa
tion. My classmates came into
the room one by one. Some
had already heard the news,
others learned from others as
they sat down. The bell rang
for class to begin.
By this time, we only had
this on our minds. Some were
sitting silently listening to the
radio, others were talking to
their friends. “I bet we get to
get out of school,” said one
girl. “Do you think it is true?”
said another student. “Do
you think we will die?” asked
another.
The news was clear now.
Two commercial airliners, with
passengers, had crashed
purposely into the twin towers
of the World Trade Center in
New York
City. I was quite worried, but
then I thought, “Well, at least
they didn’t try to strike the
Pentagon or the other military
bases.” Little did I know
irony was on my side.
Just as that thought went
through my mind, the news
caster said, “Wait! There
might have been something
that struck the Pentagon!”
Then, the other said “Yes,
it’s over the AP wire now. A
third plane has crashed into
the Pentagon.”
“Oh God,” said the female
reporter. The time was
9;40am.
The class was abuzz now
with rumors and fear. Mrs.
Wall was in tears, while going
through her purse. “Where is
my cell phone?? My
husband’s parents live right
near the Pentagon!” The
class was worried now for our
teacher. I have never seen a
teacher in such frenzy.
“Where is it?” Mrs. Wall
continued. She finally found it
and called to her husband.
“Are your parents ok??
Good. Oh no, my battery is
going dead.” Then, something
happened that I have never
seen before. Even with the
possibility of punishment,
almost every student in the
class pulled out their cell
phones and said, “Here, Mrs.
Wall. Use mine!”
It is now 9:50. The radio
reported that the FAA had
cut off all air travel in the
United States to protect
anyone and anything else that
might be in the path of other
plane/missiles. Then, from the
radio we heard. “Ladies and
Gendemen, we have just
gotten word that the South
Tower of the World Trade
Center has collapsed. It was
only partially evacuated. We
don’t know how many lives
have been lost now.”
By now, most of the class
went to Mr. Holloman’s room
since he had the TV coverage
via his set of bunny ears he
kept for the UNC games. I
was running between Mrs.
Wall’s room and Mrs. Martin’s
room. Mrs. Martin was the
“coordinator” of the Senior
High newsroom. Every time
something new came over the
radio, she called the office to
notify them. Mrs. Wall, still
worried, was pacing back and
forth in the hall. Then, we
looked down to the floor, to
find two girls kneeling on the
floor, crying.
Mrs. Martin saw this and
ran over to the pair. “What’s
wrong?” she asked in her
loving and caring tone. I
didn’t hear what the girl told
her, but quickly Mrs. Martin
helped her up and told her
“Go check out. Go down to
Chill Out.” All the teachers
that were in Mrs. Martin’s
“base station” looked in
amazement at the two girls as
they walked down the hall.
“One of her family members
works in the World Trade
Center,” Mrs. Martin said
gloomily.
Mr. Ivory was walking
down the hall. Mrs. Martin
asked him if he had heard
what had happened. He said
that he had heard the planes
hitting the World Trade Cen
ter. “What about the one at
the Pentagon?” said Mrs.
Martin. “Oh, no. I didn’t hear
that.” Mrs. Wall then said,
“We need to have something
done. The superintendent
needs to make a decision right
now!” Mr. Ivory walked
away in disbelief.
It was now approximately
10:00 a.m. I figured that I
was annoying the teachers by
standing with them so I went
to Mr. Holloman’s room to
watch on TV. The picture
was fuzzy, but the image you
could see was terrifying.
Smoke and flames were
everywhere. It was a shock
to me to see the World Trade
Center, a symbol of America,
like this.
About that time, the
reports were getting jumbled
and confusing. Some said that
a car bomb went off at the
State Department. Another
said that a helicopter was
dropping firebombs down onto
the Pentagon. Luckily, all this
proved false later in the day.
Unfortunately, another report
that followed was mostly
correct.The time was
10:15am. Tom Brokhaw
reported a fourth plane was
hijacked and went down in
Pennsylvania at about 10 am.
At the time, however, it was
thought it went down in
Philadelphia. I have friends in
Philly, and this worried me.
“Why?” I was asking myself.
One of the administrators
looked in and asked if anything
was new.“A plane might have
gone down in Philly,” I said.
“Philadelphia?” he asked.
See RMSH on Page 5.